Do you know why only sesame would have allowed Ali Babà's brother to open that famous door? Because sesame is an incredible plant, with unique properties, as are the products derived from it. Just like gomasio, an excellent and recommended substitute for salt.

The power of sesame: open sesame!

In the famous fairy tale Ali Babà and the 40 thieves, set in Persia, Ali Babà realizes that to enter the cave where a treasure is hidden, the leader of the robbers pronounces the sentence: «Open Sesame!, and only in this way does the door open. In this way he is able to enter and take some of the hidden treasure. But when his brother Cassin, wanting to emulate his brother, tries, he no longer remembers the magic word, confusing sesame with other plants. So he begins to say: «Open oats! Open up, rye! , But the door does not open and in fact he is found and killed by the robbers. How come only the word sesame was he able to open that door? There are various hypotheses, but the most accredited is the one that refers the magic formula to the incredible nutritional and vital properties of sesame, which would symbolically open various doors to man: of strength, vitality, health, mind, memory. Even in Buddhist sacred texts it is considered one of the superior foods, so much so that Buddha wrote that "the sesame seed, despite being very small, can generate a large tree". In fact, even if we all call the small seeds sesame, in reality sesame is a herbaceous plant, grown in Egypt, India, China and Burma, but also in Greece and Italy, in particular in Calabria and Sicily where the sesame from Ispica it has become a Slow Food Presidium, with which breads, biscuits and the famous are prepared cobaita or juggiulena, the nougat of the holidays. It is usually sown between April and May and is almost always harvested by hand between the end of August and September, before the capsules open naturally, letting the seeds fall. Then the plants are left to dry in the sun and beaten. The seeds, of small size and various colors, are made up for about half by a fatty substance; for this reason, oil is also obtained from sesame. Another condiment that derives from it, very common in Middle Eastern cuisine, is tahini or tahini, used in many preparations, such as babaganoush, hummus or halva. And then, from the sesame seeds, gomasio is prepared.

What is gomasio

In fact, his real name is gomashio. It is originally from Japan, where it takes its name from its two main ingredients: goma which means "sesame seeds", and shio which means "salt". In fact, gomasio is prepared with sesame seeds and unrefined sea salt. This combination is successful because it allows the body to assimilate more minerals from salt, as well as proteins and calcium from sesame. The seeds and salt, which, as we shall see, must be roasted separately, are then ground together so that the oil emitted by the sesame impregnates the grains of salt. This is precisely the process that ensures that gomasio does not cause thirst and allows the body to absorb salt in smaller quantities. In addition, sesame, whose oil is rich in saturated fatty acids and essential amino acids and lecithin, neutralizes acidity, unlike salt which instead promotes the secretion of gastric juices. For this reason, if used daily instead of salt, it is good for the nervous system, for the tone of all the tissues of the body, for digestion, but also for the heart, bones and in general for the immune system. To be sure that every single part of salt is coated with a thin layer of oil, it is advisable to prepare gomasio at home, which will certainly be much better and more healing than the one purchased, even if it is now found everywhere. But to do this you must be very careful and be precise, following our instructions. And then you will feel that perfume during its preparation!

How to prepare gomasio at home

Before starting the preparation of the gomasio at home, it would be good to get a suribachi. For those unfamiliar with it, it is a traditional Japanese ceramic mortar, a sort of flared bowl whose walls and bottom are covered with a series of deep knurls that allow the rapid pulverization of the ingredients. For the doses, however, the quantity of seeds depends on how much gomasio you want to prepare: usually you keep as a reference 1 part of salt per 16 of sesame seeds.

Ingredients

salt to taste
qs sesame seeds

Method

Heat a pan over medium-low heat and put the seeds in it while still moist.
Toast the seeds carefully, as they burn very easily. To prevent this from happening, the seeds should be stirred continuously with a wooden spoon, shaking the pan, so that they are well distributed on the surface of the pan.
When the seeds begin to burst, to see if they are toasted to the right point, take a seed between your thumb and ring finger and press. If the seed breaks easily, it means they are ready; if it doesn't break, you have to continue roasting.
Once ready, remove the seeds from the pot, and put them in the suribachi.
In the same pot, toast the salt, always over medium-low heat, just for the time to heat it; keep stirring so that it loses its moisture and becomes soaked with the oil released by the sesame seeds.
Finally, add the salt to the sesame seeds in the suribachi and pound both with the pestle with a rotating, horizontal, spiraling motion and not too fast. The seeds do not need to be crushed, but they need to shatter gently. So be careful not to exert too much pressure.
The gomasio must not taste too salty.
Keep it at room temperature in an airtight glass jar and remember to use it at the table (and not in cooking!) As often as you can instead of salt!